Haagen-Dazs settlement
The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday that Haagen-Dazs Co. Inc. has agreed to settle agency charges it made false and misleading low-fat claims for its line of frozen yogurt products.
Haagen-Dazs, based in Teaneck, N.J., represented that its entire frozen yogurt line was 98 percent fat-free and that its line of frozen yogurt bars contained 100 calories and one gram of fat per serving, the FTC said. "These claims were false for many items in each product line," the FTC said.
The settlement would prohibit Haagen-Dazs from misrepresenting the fat, saturated fat, cholestrol or calorie content of its frozen food products.
Money laundering charge settled
An American Express Co. subsidiary has reached a $50 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department that includes DTC the biggest civil fine ever assessed against a U.S. bank for money laundering, federal prosecutors in Houston said.
The settlement with American Express Bank International, which provides banking services to overseas clients of American Express Bank, stemmed from an investigation of a Mexican drug ring that allegedly smuggles hundreds of tons of Colombian cocaine a year into the United States. Two officers from the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based bank were convicted earlier this year in the money-laundering scheme.
Nasdaq proposal offered
Under pressure from regulators, the National Association of Securities Dealers proposed new rules yesterday that would give small investors more of a chance to buy and sell Nasdaq stocks at prices better than those quoted by dealers.
The proposals come in the form of changes to the NASD's longstanding plan for a new system, known as N-Prove, to handle orders of up to 1,000 shares. Earlier versions of the plan had been heavily criticized by some regulators and investors' advocates as giving small investors less over-all protection than the current system, known as SOES, for "small order execution system."
Goldman Sachs bonuses slashed
In the latest evidence of growing distress on Wall Street, Goldman, Sachs & Co. announced yesterday that it would slash the annual bonuses that it doles out to most of its employees.
In a memo circulated to Goldman's 9,200 personnel around the world, the investment firm said secretaries, assistants and other support staff would receive only 8 percent of their salaries as a year-end bonus, the lowest percentage since the early 1970s. In previous years, the bonus ranged between 20 and 25 percent.
The firm bonus is not awarded to Goldman's elite securities traders and investment bankers. But this year they, too, will see their pay cut by as much as 75 percent, according to former Goldman executives who requested anonymity.